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Was rudely awoken today by the sound of someone practicing a trumpet or some sort of brass instrument, the same monotonous notes over and over again. Next week we are going to view a house that is in the countryside, it is on a farm, far away from all these urban noises.
If anyone was our friend on Facebook, I managed to get our profile deleted, apparently bands are not allowed on there, but never fear, I will make another page, how annoying. Apart from that, there is just lots of music going on in the Cling household, Gerald has a lot to do now with the show looming next week and the new songs. I have to dash up the road in a minute to buy a couple of things for my stage outfit. We watched the Reading and Leeds festival on telly over the weekend, no one seems to dress up anymore, I suppose it's not that kind of festival. Gerald likes the Chilli Peppers, so he was pleased to watch them play. It's amazing how so many big bands have been around for ages. As the presenter said, it doesn't matter if you're young or old, fat or thin, these days in music you just have to get out there and do your stuff. That's what we're doing!

The Human Fly

Yesterday we had an amusing incident which I thought that I would share with you. We wanted to go for a walk and I came downstairs , waiting for Gerald. Normally when we go out, I always ask him if he has his keys, this time I didn't and for the first time ever he slammed the door shut and then had the awful realisation that his pockets were empty. An awful ,sinking feeling. So there we were, locked out on a Bank Holiday. Fortunately, we always leave the back windows open and the second bit of fortune was that the man who lives downstairs was actually there, so we rang on the bell and he came out to see what was going on. We explained what had happened and that we needed a ladder so we could climb back in through the window. The only thing that he had was a step ladder, but we said we'd try as it was our only choice. I won't mention the state of his flat as we walked through, he did ask us to pardon the mess, anyway when we got outside the ladder wasn't quite tall enough. So Gerald had to climb up on the shed and precariously balance another foot ladder on top of the shed's roof so that he could clamber up. I was a bit scared at this stage, especially as I had to watch him manoeuvre himself along the edge of the roof with very little to hold on to, except a narrow windowsill. If it had been me I would have lost my nerve when I got up there and become stuck. Like the human fly, Gerald stuck to the wall and with a final spurt of bravery, made it to the bathroom window, safe and sound. At this point our neighbour started to clap, saying he could never have done such a thing himself. I didn't even wince when I heard everything crashing off the bathroom windowsill, I was so relieved that my love had made it! Where were the keys, you might be wandering? In the pocket of his other jeans! I'm still flabbergasted by the whole affair, because even when you look out the window, it seems so high up. All's well that ends well.

Everyone loves the sunshine

Had a great day yesterday as far as music goes, we rehearsed our set, then put down the vocals for our new song, can't wait to work on it some more, I think we will call it "Infinity." We also went on a little spying mission to check out that house that we were meant to view. Well, it looked like a nice enough place from the outside, unfortunately it was located right in the middle of a huge housing estate and it was very rough indeed. We went for a little walk nearby to get a feel for the area and were followed by the local youths, who I found to be very intimidating indeed, I felt so uncomfortable that I insisted on leaving. Gerald was annoyed because he wanted to carry on and walk to the river, near where he grew up and I was too scared of the gangs. I couldn't imagine living somewhere like that and being too afraid to come out the front door, no thanks. It's a shame really because I was hoping we would like the house. The search continues. We left the terrible area and went to sit in the sunshine by a small lake not too far away, it was quite busy down there as obviously everyone had the same idea as us. We bought some ice -cream and sat on a bench by the water, enjoying the peace.

World's View

This is a place called World's View in the Matopos National Park, not far from where my mum lives in Zimbabwe. It is customary whenever I visit to take a drive out there and climb up to the top of the rocks and sit and contemplate. You really can see for miles, it is like looking over the whole world. It is also a site steeped in history, as it is where Cecil John Rhodes and other pioneers, like Leander Starr Jameson, are buried. Their coffins had to be dragged up the steep escarpment by ox wagon, taking days. Lots of tourists used to come here, but these days the hills are deserted, the only sound is the sound of the wind as it tears through the rocks and whistles down your ears. Last time we were there the only person we saw was a solitary policeman whose job it was to guard the site. He seemed very surprised to see us, but happily went on his way after Gerald gave him some cigarettes. When I was younger, it used to be traditional to drive out to World's View on New Year's Day to watch the sunrise. Now it seems so lonely out there, but always beautiful...

Lovely sunshine

What's that up in the sky, is it the sun? Yes, what a surprise! I'm just about to go out running but I thought that I would write quickly before I left. We are going to view a little house on Tuesday, it sounds as if it could be promising, the hunt for a new home is now underway. I hope that we do like it, it would be a miracle if did choose the first thing that we saw, but I know from previous experience that there's a lot of dives out there, so fingers crossed. It will be lovely to move, especially to have a garden.
When I came home yesterday, Gerald had created a new piece of music for me to write lyrics to, he said he didn't want me to get bored whilst we work on the other new one. It's wonderful to be inspired and have constant material to work with what a treat!
This weekend is carnival time in London. I'm ashamed to say that out of all the time I've lived here, I've never been to the Nottinghill Carnival, but then I'm not very good in crowds at all, I can't even stand being jostled on the tube. I'm glad that the weather has turned for the better, it will get everyone in the party spirit! Catch you later ....

I'm all braced!

Hi everyone, yesterday was a very happy day for me as I had my braces fitted and you can't even see that I'm wearing them really, my speech is a bit slurry at times, I sound sort of like Sean Connery, but the beauty is that I can take them out, so it won't affect my singing in any way. It's one of those things that I really should have had done ages ago, but then you couldn't get invisible braces anyway- better late than never! I keep looking at my teeth to see if they are moving yet, this two years is going to feel like forever!
Loads of people have turned on their central heating, I can't blame them as London has got really chilly, I just feel outraged at the thought of turning it back on in August, I mean we are meant to be baking, not shivering. When I got into bed last night, I was glad that it was so warm and cosy, this is definitely sleeping weather. Hard to believe the rest of the country is enjoying warm sunshine.
My mum's friend in Zimbabwe is hosting her son's wedding next month and is absolutely freaking out at the thought of it, all these guests turning up and having to feed and take care of them- with what? She wrote to me the other day saying maybe I shouldn't go and see my mum unless the situation improves, but my mum seemed more upset at the thought of us not going, so we'll have to see what happens over the next couple of weeks ....

Life

Today is cold and grey , like winter. We were shivering last night, it was so chilly, it really has been a rotten summer. Sometimes, I wish I could escape, it becomes too hard to be a human being. Then I remember all the good things that I have like my health and creativity and it doesn't seem so bad after all.
I went to the chiropodist yesterday as I have been getting an excrutiating pain in my toe. He was unable to make an accurate diagnosis of what is actually wrong with it, but he did make me a silicon brace to wear around it, I am going to be full of braces. Also I had a really good giggle as he used all these funny instruments to take off some hard skin and it tickled like crazy. It is an interesting job, although I can't think of why anyone would want to look at feet all day. I suppose people get a lot of problems with their feet and it is well paid. A bit like dentists really.
Went to see a friend in South London, I mentioned that someone had been shot at his local train station a few nights ago, he said "Oh people are always getting shot around here, but as long as you are inside your house, you are OK." We walked very quickly back to the car, it is a bit rough where he lives, I suppose if you do live somewhere like that you just get used to it in the end, I thought that where we lived was getting rough....

Sunday

It's amazing how different you feel after a good sleep, it makes such a difference not to be tired. Tried to languish in bed a little longer, but Nyo was really shrieking to come out of her cage, the kind of shriek that can be heard all the way down the road. Perfect running weather today, in other words it is raining. I shall be glad to go to Zimbabwe for some sunshine, at least they've still got that. My Mum is managing with food as some of her friends are driving to Botswana or South Africa to stock up on groceries, isn't that ridiculous?
This weekend is the V Festival, now they will be wallowing in mud as well. I was shocked to see the devastation left by Hurricane Dean as well as it sweeps through the Caribbean, it's definitely not a good time of year to go on holiday there. I remember when we went to Tobago a couple of years ago, we arrived a day after they had caught the tail end of a hurricane and the whole beach where we were staying had been displaced, apparently it looked completely different to how it did normally. When you think about it , most hotels in the Caribbean are built right on the beaches, so it must be a pretty scary experience if you happen to be there when nature strikes.
On the news last night they had footage of two astronauts repairing their space shuttle in space, I was truly fascinated and jealous, I would love to go into space and look down at the earth, it must look like a marble.

Cosmotherapy

Hi everyone, is your weekend fabulous so far? A little while back we did a collaboration with DreamLab where I wrote and sung the vocals for Silver Skies, they have now released this on their new CD called Cosmotherapy. For more info, you can go to the following MySpace page www.myspace.com/cardamarmusic
It's only three weeks now before we perform at the Oxford Artz Festival. I'm not as scared as I was before, not sure if that's a good thing or not, ask me a couple of days before and I might feel differently. Now I need to sort out another outfit as well, something that stands out and is original would be good. Gerald has been very busy this week, making little alterations to the set, small improvements here and there, and of course I recorded all the vocals for the live set , so he has been working on that too. It felt quite alien to sing again in a studio situation, I have become so used to singing live. The microphones are completely different and of course in the studio you can't leap around and dance either, took me a little while to adjust back. Can't wait to start the new song as well, it is a kind of surreal love song, I'm saying no more!

No sleep

Someone is determined that I should not get any sleep, there has been banging and hammering going on all morning, and then as soon as I get up it stops. A few years ago I bought Gerald the most annoying alarm clock, for some reason that kept going off as well, I wanted to throw it out the window, it is like some sort of conspiracy! No sleep is a trigger for headaches, but I am keeping my spirits up. First of all, we have a new song on the way, I have almost completed the lyrics now, it's always exciting to have something new to work on. Secondly, I am pleased because work begins next week on my teeth, I am having invisible braces to line up the imperfections, not those awful train tracks either, so no cracks about jaws or anything. It's a very small world because my orthodontist was born in Zimbabwe as well, in the same town as my Mum, and he went to the same school as her, at more or less the same time, so they probably know each other. Gerald want to rehearse now so I have to cut my blog short, see you later!

The funny things people say!

The sky is grey and overcast today, looks like the weather report is accurate again. It was quite amusing last night, we saw some friends that we hadn't seen in a while, so we took them a CD and some photos of the Picnic. We were chatting away, telling them all the things that were happening with the music and then one of them turned around and said "Oh, so your voice has got better then?" Err yes, thanks a lot! Then Gerald showed them a picture from the video where he is dressed up in a mask,and without even really looking at it they said, "Oh yes, you can tell that's you!", as if he looks like a strangely painted character with straw hair! When we got in the car to come home, we were chuckling away much better. People do come out with some funny things, I suppose because we have been doing it for so long, and they knew me when I was just starting out. People think that success is an overnight thing, they don't realise you have to work hard for a long time to get anywhere. So to all my friends, thank you for your patience, I might have made you listen to dodgy recordings when I started, but I've made up for it now!

Photo of Ambient Picnic

Look out folks, this is a snap of me performing at the Ambient Picnic, it seems like such a long time ago! At the moment we are recording our live set as it it slightly different to the way we did our songs originally, and it will give people a good idea of what we are capable of doing live. We will put it out as a podcast as well, so you can all have a listen!

It's such a pity the other festival was cancelled, we would have been playing tomorrow and the weather is fabulous. Next time!

Hope you all are having a fantastic weekend!

Puppy

I'd like to introduce you to "Puppy", this is my Mum's little dog, we got him from the SPCA rescue centre and he has lived happily with my Mum ever since. I think secretly that he is my dog, because when I go there he never leaves my side, even at night he always finds a way to sneak into our room to be close to me. He has such a lovely temperament, he loves children and when my Mum had her nursery school, he used to let the children dress him up and push him around in a pram! Once when my Mum's other little dog was sick, he used to nuzzle the little dog and be all affectionate! Unfortunately he has a terrible habit of running away, if he sees an open gate, that's it. Once he went missing for over a week and my Mum used to get up early to go and look for him. She was walking in the bush one day,calling for him, when all of a sudden he leaped in to her arms out of nowhere! I don't know how he survived out there, but I was so happy she found him. I don't know what will happen to Puppy when my Mum comes over, I did make enquiries about bringing him over here, but he would have to go into quarantine for six months and I don't think I could do that to an animal. He is so popular with my Mum's friends that I don't think he'll have a problem finding a good home, sweet little thing!

Think you've got problems?

Hi everyone, hope the sun is shining where you are, as it is here. Spoke to my Mum yesterday, it is becoming a daily struggle to find food in Zimbabwe. Can you imagine going into a supermarket where the shelves are literally bare? You can't even buy basic commodities like salt. The queues for bread stretch for blocks, patrolled by baton- wielding policemen in case there's riots when the daily quota runs outs. Restaurants and take- aways are barely able to open because they have nothing to cook. There is no meat, no milk, no sugar,no eggs and no maize porridge, which is the staple diet of the African people. You can't even buy cigarettes, in a country that's main export used to be tobacco. My Mum has lived in Zimbabwe all her life, a long time really, and she has never seen such desperate suffering. It's not only humans, as people cannot feed their pets properly either. Combine this with severe petrol shortages, power failures and lack of water and you have a grim situation. I guess if we still are going to go in October , we will be going with suitcases full of food.
To change the subject completely, I read that the world's only freshwater dolphin, the Yangtze River Dolphin, has now officially become extinct. Another one on the list.
These are interesting times, the world seems on a downward spiral, yet it it up to us as individuals to act responsibly and respect the earth and each other. It all goes back to the old saying, "The world will change when we change."

Have you heard of the narwhal?

Really appreciating the beautiful weather still, the rain seems a distant memory. I feel sorry for all the farmers having to deal with the outbreak of foot and mouth disease, it was awful last time when so many animals had to be slaughtered. No country walks either.
I was reading in National Geo about a curious creature that I have never heard of before, the Narwhal. It is a whale that has a long ivory tusk like a unicorn and they live in the cold waters of the Arctic. Of course they are being hunted for their tusks, which are very valuable, so it is yet another creature that will no doubt be on the endangered species list. I am fascinated by them because they look strange, yet magnificent, almost as if they belong to another time. They look like gentle creatures as well. In the springtime, when the ice melts, they migrate to certain areas and that's where the humans wait for them with their guns, what a greeting! Apparently it is very difficult to kill with one shot and a lot of the whales escape wounded. Out of all the ones they shoot, very few are retrieved anyway, in other words they sink to the bottom of the ocean, just killed for nothing. I was sad to read about all of this, I wish that the hunters would just leave them alone.

Mugabe rules the world

Not a day goes by when I don't think about Zimbabwe and all the terrible things that go on. The news is full of reports about human rights abuses and starvation yet the rest of the world turns a blind eye and doesn't do a thing to help. Why have they forsaken my beautiful country, why? There must be someone that can intervene, there must be someone who cares. Does anyone have any sort of moral conscience to allow all of this to happen? Mugabe is worse than Saddam and yet no-one wants to bring him to justice. He has to answer for mass genocide of his own people, beatings, torture and the collapse of a once flourishing economy, but the powers that be just let him continue. Are Bush and Brown saying that the lives of normal Zimbabweans are not worth saving, is it just another troublesome African country that should be ignored, and by the way how bad does the situation have to get before anyone does anything? They have made Mugabe invincible, they might as well just stick him on a throne and crown him king, he gets away with it time after time, all he does is stick his fingers up at the rest of the world, making a mockery out of democracy.

Do-Yourself-In

Hi everyone, another gorgeous day here in London, loads of people will probably grumble about the heat now, but you won't catch me complaining. The other day I made the mistake of purchasing a blackout blind, I thought it would be so easy to install in our bedroom, nothing better than a nice, dark room to sleep in. Two days later and it has turned into the DIY nerve- breaker. Should have known it was a bad sign when the instructions were quite obviously wrong, it they had actually been for the blind that we bought, it would have been easy. After much confusion we decided the easiest thing to do was to just put it up without trying to trim it. As Gerald was drilling a hole in the wall, the drill ran out of power and the bit got stuck in the hole, I was less than impressed, we had to wait for the drill to recharge. Still, it should have been pretty straightforward from there, it wasn't so bad getting actually fitting it to the wall, but then it wouldn't roll down properly and it makes a terrible squeaking noise, it is quite honestly the crappiest thing I have ever bought in my life. What made it worse was that as we were in the middle of it, Nyo decided to start flying around the flat and refused to go back in her cage, so I had to keep running from room to room like some glorified bird nanny. By the end of it all I was cursing the damn thing, wishing I'd never bought it. Now we have to adjust our other curtain fittings as well to make it look half decent. Leave it for a few days , I think. I did appreciate it this morning though, it does make a difference.

We're still here!

What a week we've had so far. First of all, the festival was cancelled and then the saga with Myspace, sometimes we can't even log in and our page has gone all pear-shaped , grrr. It's very frustrating because we have been featured in a magazine and I know that loads of people will be visiting our page to have a look. Thank goodness we have our own website, in case you have forgotten , www.clingmusic.co.uk ,you can be kept up to date with all our goings on, whilst the lovely people at Myspace sort out all the problems.
Anyway, we are going to write some more songs and get some more gigs, can't be too disappointed as there's nothing we can do about it, just get on with it. I let myself get all stressed out last week and I ended up with a migraine for four days, it's not worth it.
Seems like the summer is here at last, it's about time, lovely to see the blue skies and the bright sunshine, gorgeous to just walk outside in a t-shirt and actually feel warm, and of course everything looks so green from all the rain. Makes me want to be outside, I will look forward to running later.
Success is only an absence of failure, don't ever give up, no matter what obstacles are put in your way.